In the decade since the emerald ash borer was discovered in Ohio, millions of trees have been
wiped out by the seemingly unstoppable insect.

But the death of every mature ash tree is simply the beginning of a cascade of ecological
changes.

“A dead or dying tree will attract a whole assemblage of organisms that will change over time
depending on the age and decomposition of the exposed tree,” said George Keeney, an Ohio State
University entomologist.

“Some could benefit greatly, at least temporarily.”

A U.S. Forest Service study found that the number of woodpeckers, which feed on ash-borer
larvae, increased in heavily infested areas. Dead ash trees also are likely to become a buffet for
fungus and insects that feed on rotting wood.

Those are winners. The losers include several species of moths and aphids that rely on living
ash trees to survive, said Dan Herms, an OSU entomologist.

Herms co-wrote a 2009 study that identified 44 ash-reliant species.

Without ash trees, “they are at extreme risk of extirpation,” he said.